


To Hate or to Forgive

by Iasonas



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Betrayal, Black Bulls Squad (Black Clover), F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Revenge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:28:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27020485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iasonas/pseuds/Iasonas
Summary: The war is over, but in a kingdom plagued but the aristocracy, a friend today might be an enemy tomorrow. A conspiracy at Asta's trial after the Reincarnation arc sends things sideways.I'm posting it on Fanfiction.Net.
Relationships: Asta/Secre Swallowtail | Nero
Comments: 12
Kudos: 41





	1. Contact

**Before you read:**

**As of me begging this fic the manga is on chapter 267. There will not be too many manga spoilers so long as you have caught up to the end of the reincarnation arc.**

**There will be a pairing(probably)(the pairing will be straight) in this fic but it will not be the main focus.**

***Feel free to check the end of the chapter for details on the next update date.**

**I post chapters on FanFiction.net before I post here (but don't worry delay will be less than an hour).  
**

**Finally; Please note:** As per tradition I do not own Black Clover. Now go, enjoy the story.

The Clover Kingdom parliament courthouse is a large, peculiarly shaped stone tower, with a height that does not match its girth, causing a mismatched appearance. It is a building appearing as if the creator had lost all sense of the aesthetic that the neighborhoods of the capital worked so hard to build. Though other buildings basked in the shadow of the reassuring mirage that was the now disheveled castle, helping radiate the warm glow of taverns and bakeries that had escaped from the crowded clutches of the market district. The courthouse stood warily, a reminder of a bygone era, a building that was set to be refurbished but eventually looked over in favour of expanding the town. It was a building that proudly brandished the symbol of the scales of justice, metres above its door, making it look grand as the audience and court of noblemen and women that would crowd its stands. A building whose grandeur was only surpassed by the fact that the roof seemed too flat and cumbersome to support itself, making the building look like a jerry rigged death trap for the prosecutors, audience, and whatever poor bastard was being prosecuted.

On this faithfull day, as I passed the several patches of war-torn town that recent events had left behind, I arrived in front of the sturdy courthouse doors. For today, I was the poor bastard that was being trialed.

My companion, friend, and comrade, Secre Swallowtail, fellow member of the Kingdom's Black Bulls, followed closely to my right walking a consistent step or two behind me, every movement shifting her tar black dress in the light breeze.

We both kept our arms by our sides as we walked, fists clenched tight in anticipation of the trial. As we grew nearer to the gate my mouth was hanging open and as wide as it possibly could. My heart was thumping in my chest as a result of the combination of nerves and awe.

"I know what the magic king said, but we just have to give our testimonies on the great war and clear things up. Right?" I started, "If we explain, they will understand, we can give a good account of what happened and explain the whole deal with the devil and the elves and how the reincarnation was undone."

"Even so, Asta, your position is shaky. Don't get careless." she replied, not varying from the ever stoic look on her face. Upon our arrival, the gates opened and heavy cuffs fell to our wrists, restraining us, "EEEEEH? What the hell is this? This is not supposed to happen" I screamed and realised that the cuffs felt too limiting for something that I should have been able to break without too much effort.

Hooded figures guided us towards a circular stand. The inside of the room was thick with the musk of aristocracy, the sweet odors and perfumes worn by each and every noble congealing the air and making it hard to breathe. We were guided to a fenced podium, the heavy chain of the cuffs jangling as we walked along. The room consisted of three floors each one of which had a set of stands, overflowing with members of noble and royal families who felt the need to grace us with their presence. Dim light fell through the glass windows that littered the ceiling. The light was supplemented by a plentiful amount of crystal chandeliers. Directly in front of us was a break in the stands encircling the pit of the court. The space was encompassed by a freakishly long stairwell that seemed to lead into the darkness. Above the stairwell there was a balcony especially for the feudal king and his guests.

The feudal king was a homunculus of a man with a face where whether you looked at the over exaggerated mustache or the bulging eyes, simply did not look right, and a body bulging with fat that was so decorated in expensive silks and fabrics you could not tell man from garment.

The first sign I noticed something was wrong was when scriptures on the cuffs flared and they were immediately connected to the floor of the podium via a chain, the second sign came when the prosecutor emerged from the seemingly endless statement and announced. "As the chairman of Clover kingdoms magic parliament, I, Damnatio Kira, allow the trial of Asta of the Black Bulls and all affiliated, to commence."

"WHAT THE-WHY ARE YOU TREATING ME LIKE A CRIMINAL?" I screamed in retaliation.

"It appears we have been set up..." Secre stated her face equally expressionless as when we entered the building.

The king murmured his disaproovements and remarks to some unknown guest as Damnatio continued "Originally born in the edge of the forsaken realms at the village of Hage. Asta, and all in association are being trialed under the charge of treason due to the use of forbidden magic and the association with devils participating in the war effort against the Kingdom of Clover."

As the nobles erupted with the comments I was so used to, I remembered the days when I first came to the capital, nobody really wanted to associate with a commoner from the forsaken realms even if it was a magic night. I desperately yelled out, "WAIT THAT'S NOT RIGHT, WE FOUGHT WITH THE OTHER MAGIK KNIGHTS AGAINST THE DEVIL!"

Secre's expression was taking the unnatural look of slight alarm, which could not be good. I could see that both Secre and Damnatio were about to say something before I cut them off "YOU CAN'T JUST ACCUSE US WITHOUT EVIDENCE WE FOUGHT OUR ASSES OFF FOR YOU GUYS AGAINST THE DEVIL"

"Really and where is this devil you speak of?" He asked, a sadistic grin never leaving his face, before leaning in and whispering, "the captains have given me a report on your power devil and I know for a fact. YOU are evil." As he finished his remark I could smell the perfume of unidentifiable summer flowers on his breath, a scent so sweet it was nauseating and poisonous.

The moment that he removed his face from my ear and turned towards the dark corridor at the end of a stairwell, Secre leaned in and ushered, "Asta the chains prevent us from getting our grimours can you use your antimagic to get us free. We need to go."

As much as I hated the fact that she was right, I knew we had to get out of here and reached for the mark inside of me that I now knew was the devil who possessed my grimoire. I beckoned it and let its dark power seep into me. Though far slower than when I channeled it out of my blades, it eventually came and I felt my vision crispen as my fang sharpened, and took notice of the astral wing that was trying to form from the right side of my back. I felt a wonderful electric feeling that the power carried on my skin as tendrils of shadow merged along my right arm chest and ended as a singular triangular tendrill staining my skin and reaching towards my eye. All the webs that merged together made my arm look like it was blacked out and I passively took notice of the horn that seemed to want to erupt from the right half of my skull. As the nobles gasped I was painfully aware of all the malice that accompanied the power. I heard the faint whisperings of hatred in the back of my head reminding me that nobody would ever truly acknowledge me and or my strength, that a simple peasant could never climb the ranks, much less one without conventional magic. The devil's power does not make one inherently evil, neither does it tempt them into darkness. The power that flowed through me simply magnifies what is already there, It magnifies the parts of you that are buried under what one considers himself. With the Devil's power running through me all my senses were heightened, that included my hearing and ability to sense Ki, the energy that flows through everything in the world. With my new senses not only did I hear all the hateful whispers from the crowd directed at a simple commoner, but I felt the weight that those words carried. I felt their hatred, superiority and disgust, And I myself, felt utterly helpless.

The king recoiled back into his chair bearing terror filled eyes, and Damnatio lifted up a bronze scale and announced, "This Commoner has relinquished himself to a Devil and is possessed by it. Though no longer necessary at this point, it is customary to present evidence at all trials held in the parliament building. '' Nine hooded figures took their places around the podium Damnatio and the stairwell where a tenth magician would have stood. A little girl was brought into the room and I immediately recognised her as my comrade Gauche's little sister. She stood on the bottom of the stairwell while Damnatio moved away and resumed his monologue. "Marie Adlai is the sister of Gauche Adlai, a member of the black bulls as well as a member of the disgraced Adlai house. She was corrupted by the devil and used her mirror eye magik against the Kingdom's Magic Knights. Under the offence of Treason for aiding and falling prey to the devil, I, head of the Clover Kingdom Magic Parliament, Impose the maximum penalty and sentence her to death. Are there any objections from the noble audience?" He said as calmly as one ever could and when no noble spoke up he continued. Each one of the hooded figures their right hand was holding a simple wooden wand.

"Aim." Damnatio ordered. The cloaks held up their right hand toward Marie who was dragged to the floor, being no longer able to support the weight of the heavy steel cuffs on her hand. I started to pull at the chains that bound me to the floor and realised something as the etched runes on the metal flared once more, the stronger that I pulled the stronger the cuffs became. I tried using my full strength that as far as I knew was unparalleled by any other humans in this kingdom but the cuffs only felt tighter and heavier than they had a right to be. I passively saw Secre desperately trying to open her Grimoire but the chains prevented her.

"STOP!" I Screeched, the noize the exited my throat sounding more like the desperate plea of a dying animal, before Damnatio continued.

"Set."

As some noble edged away from the circle of executioners and averted their eyes from my demonic visage, others leant in; treating this whole occurrence as some twisted form of entertainment. Realising that nothing I could have said was going to stop them, I tensed my legs and poured all my might to attempt a desperate jump. For a fraction of a second I deceived myself into thinking that I had freed myself. My misconceptions were proven wrong when The chain that bound me ran out of slack. I crashed face first into the railing, My enhanced body breaking through the marble of the podium and forming cracks on the marbled floor beneath me. I regained my scenes almost immediately, the devil's power repairing any injuries that my already fortified body had received. I dismissed Secres concerned scream as background static and took a good lock at Marie's frightened form. Our eyes met, her face lost as her mouth dropped into a silent scream of horror.

She was terrified of me.

Marie recoiled and tried to scatter away just in time for Damnatio's final command.

"Fire." the man screamed expresionely. It was as if the word had been used so often it had lost all flavour.

Brilliant beautiful lances of flame shot out of the executioners plain wands. The dazzling light painting the walls with thousands of dancing shadows, which simultaneously screamed in hues pain and ecstasy. Walls were carpeted in the faceless figures which the flames had previously incinerated. Marie didn't even notice the flame engulf her, her terrified eyes were fixated on only me. The flames subsided as the air was assaulted by odors of burnined hair and flesh, leaving nothing more than a soot pattern that resembled the little girl. I felt like someone had poured acid on my heart, each second eating away at my emotions. This was not why I became a magic knight. I wanted to prove that I was more than a commoner from the forsaken realms, I wanted to become somebody who people looked up to, to bring a good name to my village and my orphanage, to bring hope to the other orphans. On this faithfull day, I was none of those, For I was nothing more than a symbol of fear. Nothing more than a monster just like the one who started the horrible war that was just recently won. Nothing more than another devil. My malice overwhelmed me as I heard Damnatio's voice rize, Hatred fueled my every breath.

"The girl who escorted the devil. There are no records of her birth in the Kingdom archives. Furthermore the black horns on her head are living testimony to the use of forbidden magic, probably of demonic origin." He simply stated. Through my crazed state I was still conscious enough to stop thrashing against the chain and look at her. Her eyes had already given up and she gave me a weary smile. Was there enough time to cry, I would have. As Damnatio's voice Echoed in the now quiet halls Time seemed to slow. "Now Nameless Witch, Under the Charge of treason for the use of Black Magic and willingly cohersing with a devil, I, head of the Clover Kingdom Magic Parliament, Impose the maximum penalty and sentence you to death. Are there any objections from the noble audience?"

As my vision darkened I begged that anybody would object. I prayed to the god of light that my comrades would kick down one of the walls and the rest of the black bulls would have our backs and help. After all, that's what comrades do for eachother. The last thing I perceived before my vision went dark was there being no objections. We were alone.

XxX

It was dark. I looked at my hands, almost wondering why I could see them in the absence of all light. My hands were useless things. Not even good enough to save a friend. I sobbed Secre's name as I recalled my failure. But I was surprised when my self pity and loathing was disturbed by another.

" **Hatred is a natural thing to feel when one has been wronged by so many others.** " A disembodied voice sounded. I looked up at the figure that approached me. He was almost an identical copy of myself, yet he had wings, a pair of horns that pointed forward and a savage green that seemed to have been carved into the pitch black shadow that made up his body. I tried focusing on the red slits that were his eyes, but found mine were unable to focus.

" **I am amazed that your mind reached out to me for help, when you understood that there were no other options.** "

The dam that was struggling to hold back my emotions finally broke. Tears streamed out of my eyes as hatred flowed through my teeth. "WHAT GOOD IS YOUR HELP IF THEY'RE ALL DEAD?"

" **No, just one. The one with the seals has yet to die, and I can tell you how we can help her.** "

Though I knew who he was, I did not care. His dark power had saved both me and my comrades a hundred times before and for now, that was all I needed to know to trust him."How?" I asked, feeling my determination return. "How, tell me how to help Secre."

The devil's eyes lit up as he looked into mine and told me, " **I want freedom, You are filled with so much hatred, so much resentment. Such beautifully refined malice, yet you restrict yourself. So if you will not use them, then give them to me. And together, WE, will thrive.** "

Being indebted to another can be a curse. Oftentimes a favor can be a dangerous thing, because you never know when it will come to bite you. I learned that the hard way in the witches forest. Everything comes at a price, if not to you then to somebody else. That time in the forest I was lucky because I was bit almost immediately. This time lacked that guarantee. But I'd be damned if I let my friend die. The price for his help could easily come back to bite me, but I did not care.

I looked into the dark eyes. I understood his request. And I accepted.

**___**  
Authors Notes:  


**Well props to one of my friends and classmates for checking my grammar and making sure that everything was coherent.**

**Now then to give you a piece of my mind:**

**I hate social media. I mean its a wonderful thing, but its still despicable. On social media one can find the dumbest garbage one can think of. So yesterday I was browsing through peoples stories on IG and somebody posted that the US right wing chose to mess with the "wrong generation"(I'm sure you know the meme, the one with protestors holding up the sign). Now normally this is not so bad, until I remembered that she is not American, and that we don't live in America, and she was promising a bloody revolution! Right so for one second lets assume that a revolution will be started(And the BLM protests are more along the lines of revolts, not exactly what I would consider overthrowing the government.). What exactly is our generation gonna do? I mean for Christs sake we eat tide pods and have difficulties with using a can opener.(And believe me I asked around barely any of my friends knew how to open a can without a pull tab. And a can opener is among the simplest bloody things to use.)**

**Now with that out of the way. One of my pet peeves is when I start reading a fic I find interesting, but the updates are relatively irregular(yes I know people have lives to attend to). I mean you can sort of make a estimate of the usual update time if you look through when each chapter gets updated and take a note of that but that takes effort and persistence. So I will be posting when you can expect the next chapter by:**

**Next chapter should be out at around Sunday, November 1st but I have my fall break next week and I'm feeling good so I might post it a lot sooner(before next Sunday).**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Black Clover, If I did I would be a fair bit older, and Japanese. And I would also be able to draw. but i am none of those things.

*See Authors notes about next chapter.

* * *

I awoke. The presence of the world is crisp in all my senses. I reached out and felt the Ki of all the presences that surrounded me, just like captain Yami had taught me. Each one clear and distinct. I felt the whole room, and all of its inhabitants. I dismissed the feeling that one of them was missing and focused some more, the world revolving a hundred times slower. I also felt the flames rushing towards Secre. The chain was nothing more than an afterthought. I felt the Devil’s presence as well as his conscience, and I realised that I was not the only one in control, he was right there with me. We both had different aspirations, and I felt that, but for now we both had a similar objective as well as a common enemy. Nothing spells unison like a common enemy.

Working as one we willed my body forward. And it obliged, the chain snapped as we stood. I could only imagine what I looked like because I felt one of my right fangs draw blood from my top lip. With the chain no longer preventing me access to my grimoire, it flew out of my belt as I willed it so, and with another extension of my will. We summoned the Demon Dweller sword and it settled into my hand. It was currently the lightest and most slender of my blades. We stepped forward and within a fraction of a second we were in front of Secre. I let the Devil control all of the power in my blade and with the flat of the blade pointed toward the executioners and a wide sweeping motion, my Demon Dweller absorbed all of the flames. The perpetual rust that naturally hid all of the intricate carvings along the weapon seemed to vanish as the indents flared with wonderful shades of scarlet light.

I could have just taken Secre and run back to the base, my comrades would know what to do. Either that or captain Yami would give us our next orders to help us out, he would never betray the Black Bulls. Of course that would have been the rational thing to do. Right now I was not rational. 

The Demon Dweller blade best works when the magic it absorbs is given willingly. Though the Devil was doing his best controlling the spell, the flames craved freedom. So I pointed the blade at one of the executioners, and I gave the flames the freedom they so craved. As more burning filled the air I let the Demon Dweller sword fall to the ground and did not even realise that I was mostly free of the Devil's influence. I willed my grimoire to summon the Demon Slayer sword. Though I call it a sword it is a large pointed slab of steel with a good 30 to 40cm where the blade suddenly stopped and a slender, tangless hilt protruded. The blade was almost my height in length and it was covered in a black rust and a multitude of scuffs. The blade was naturally dull everytime it was summoned it would arrive in the same condition, with no edge and the exact same amount of damage. I had learned that when it was originally conceived by the elves, its ability was to reflect magic attacks but now it was also an excellent conductor of my devil's power.

I positioned my hands at a backwards grip on the long handle of the greatsword and got ready to power my strongest attack. I did not care what would happen but this abomination of a court needed to pay for what they had done. One way or another, I was taking down this building.

At that moment I hated a lot of things; I hated the nobles in the stands, for not providing any argument. I hated Damnatio, for prosecuting us. I hated the executioners, for killing Marie and trying to kill Secre, But most of all, I hated myself, for not being able to stop any of those things from happening. I hated feeling so helpless, and the Devil gave me a way to remedy that. I fed the devil my hatred, he savored the flavor, and paid me back in power. 

With the flat of my blade pointed towards the roof I fed power to the edge of my blade to power my Black Divider attack. An ethereal edge manifested around my greatsword, not as large as the one I had used during the war, but still large enough to pierce cleanly through the side of the tower. With a wide arc I carved through half of the building, the extended edge of my blade allowing me to remain a meter or so in front of the podium. The cut bisected 4 of the remaining 8 executioners, and as the side of the building began to collapse my ears were rewarded with the screams of the nobles in the stands falling and being crushed. I was relieved, but the satisfaction that the smug bastards would never wrong anybody again soon faded.

The roof of the building began to collapse, sending chunks of rubble falling everywhere. Sadly the audience and executioners had already begun to recover from the shock and some were already trying to evacuate. I heard screams as more of the nobles began to regain themselves and trample over each other to reach the exit. And that was when I realised why nobody was trying to attack me. The building was becoming more and more unstable by the second, walls crumbling and sending segments of roof raining down. And I realised that in my rage I had forgotten about Secre.

As far as doing one's best in the face of hard situations, Secre deserved a round of applause. Somehow she had managed to evade a large chunk of the roof that had fallen and was using a small gap between that and the floor for cover, all the while she was trying to pull the chain free from the damaged podium.

My more sensible side of thinking hit me like a truck, I had to get her out before the rest of the roofing fell on our heads. The executioners had already disappeared and would probably be setting up a firing line outside of the courthouse. With my greatsword I cleaved cleanly through the binding chain. She looked at me but her eyes were not focusing, it was then that I noticed the stream of blood flowing from the back of her head. She was concussed, a head injury at a time like this could lead to dreadful consequences. I scooped her up and tried not to jostle her head too much. After debating it for a couple of seconds I decided that I needed as much space as possible to work with so I slung her over my shoulder in a fireman's carry. 

Magic in general, especially my use of the Devil’s power was very heavily tied to my emotions. Though the devil was still pumping a steady amount of power through my veins to maintain my current form, I had just watched a friend die; saying I felt worn out was an understatement.

The Injury must have finally caught up to Secre because as I shifted her weight trying to adjust the grip of the blade in my right hand, she only made slight groans and relaxed a bit. It is easier for me to use the Devil’s power when I have a particular strong emotion to use as a medium, usually the more dark or passionate an emotion the better. I looked within me but was only confronted with my own dread, so I looked outside for inspiration, I took one last look around the room and glanced over the crushed bodies of nobles and executioners for one last reminder of my hatred. 

I was rewarded with enough rigor to energize the eternal wing sprouting from my right shoulder blade, I invested the rest of my power into a miniaturized version of my black divider. When other people are involved the best way to get out of a difficult situation is to do something theatrical, somewhat brash and very unexpected. The most likely scenario was that there was a firing squad of Magic Knights just over the barrier of rubble, waiting for us to emerge. So I chose to do something that I hoped the enemy would either think me too stupid to do, or knowing what captain Yami had written in mission reports, I hoped that the enemy would expect me to face them head on. My genius idea was to go the other way. Ha Ha, who said I could not make clever plans.

I pointed the blade towards the top of the remaining segment of wall towering above me and with a flap of my wing, I was sent shooting forwards. Just like my training had taught me, Connect the wing and the sword to propel myself forward so I can cover a great distance. Usually when I am flying into walls it is not for my own free will, this time however it was, and screaming at the top of my lungs seemed like a good idea.

As one might guess Taking a giant hunk of metal and plowing through a wall is not an advisable course of action, but in this particular case at this particular time, it was a successful one. As we went through the wall a couple of things happened: I shifted my blade to cover more of Secre’s body and as a result I got covered in scratches as shards of granite ripped at my skin, meaning that I was losing my connection to my power.

I managed to clear the city in three leaps, and got off another five before I fully lost my vigor. As I landed my power faded and my knees gave out. I fell face first to the ground and ended up taking Secre with me. I worried that I had worsened her condition but was at least somewhat relieved when she let out an annoyed grunt.

I returned my blade to my grimoire and labored to stand up but eventually I managed. The world felt a hundred times heavier than it should, I was amazed that I managed to get Secre on my back and started moving again.

I had my next goal in mind. Clover Kingdom had a vast network of rivers that flowed down from the Heart Kingdom. If I could find one, I would be able to get Secre some medical attention and find directions to go back to the edge of the common realm. So I walked in a straight line, keeping my ears open and hoping for the best. Not very heroic but hey, it would get the job done.

**‘Your body was overloaded by my power, you need to rest.’**

At the sound of a voice I stopped and started glancing around nervously, “Who,”

**‘You ask yet you already know. A magicless peasant wanted the power to be a hero… No, if I recall correctly you wanted to be the next Magic King and rule over clover. You, the powerless, wanted power, so I was what you got.’**

“Devil,” I said, “Thank you for your power, but I cannot rest now. My friend needs a doctor.”

**‘I- As my host, you are my primary concern. You are the body that I need. In your rage, by trying to use too much of my power, you have damaged your muscles. So you need to put the woman down and rest-’** he tried to lecture me until I cut him off.

“Devil I can’t do that. I know you want my body, but my comrades are more important.” 

He paused for a while before speaking again,  **‘In that case, my host, Let me give you some more assistance. You let me dwell within your malice, and that is a fine deal, but one gets what one gives, so as is right now I can only help you in combat.’**

I felt like I knew where this was going, and it could cause a lot of problems in the future. But he was right, My body would eventually succumb to fatigue. “What do you want?” I asked, trying to sound as uninterested in the deal as I could. 

**‘Humans have three key elements, Mind, Soul and body. Right now I live in your grimoire, in turn we are extensions to each other's souls. So where as I can feel all of your emotions, I have little to no connection to the outside world. What I am really saying is that I want access to mind and body. I want to feel and to see.’**

“IDIOT DEVIL, I’M NOT THAT STUPID! Like hell am I letting you mess with my mind.” I screamed, forgetting that I was supposed to be moving stealthily through the forest. 

**‘I'm not asking for enough of you mind to tamper with your thinking, Just enough to be able to see what you see and communicate without you, having to be so emotional so to say.’**

Under different circumstances I would not hesitate to turn down to offer, but the devil and his power had saved both me and my comrades countless times in the past, “Fine, what do I have to do?”

**‘Nothing much, just consent.’**

“Oh-ok, How do I consent?”

**‘You idiot, Just repeat the contract and put your will into it; same as summoning a sword.’**

“HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT?-”

**‘JUST SHUT UP AND MAKE THE CONTRACT!’**

“FINE I GET IT!” I mindlessly yelled out one more time only to disturb the unconscious Secre over my back. “Devil, I agree to giving you access to enough of my mind and body to see, feel, and communicate with me.” I pushed my will into the words, making certain to repeat the contract carefully.

The devil let out a long satisfied sigh before making good on his promise to assist me, **‘There is a stream around 100 paces to your left, it flowers smoothly so it is not very loud, neither is it too big, but it will serve its purpose.’**

I walked in silence until I reached the river. The flowing water would conceal both my steps and my scent in the case that the Magic Knights were to be more organised than expected and sent to pursue us. 

Upon arriving at the stream, as gently as I could, dropped Secre off my back and onto some moss near the riverbank. The Devil was right, it was a small and quiet flowing stream, with the cool water that one was used to seeing in the Clover kingdom. With a heavy sign I lowered my head, formed my hands into a bowl and tried to pick up scoops of water. It took me a couple of tries before I realised just how much my hands were shaking, I gave up on the attempt to scoop the water, lowered my head into the stream, and took a couple heavy swallows before I leaned back and rested on the cool rocks.

I tried resting my eyes for a second but was greeted with Marie's visage and the screams of the nobles that I had killed. It took me a second to realise that I had led to a little girl's death, and that I claimed the lives of others in vengeance. 

My eyes shot open on the brink of tears and I took a couple of heavy breaths. I sat up and tried desperately to distract myself. The forest was lush with greenery but not heavily overgrown like the ones on the Forsaken Realms of the Kingdom. Meaning either this forrest was either very well kept, which would be impossible since there were no nobles living in the Forsaken Realms-hence the whole ‘forsaken’ title, or I had carried us past the plains of the Royal realms and into the forests of the common realms, in which case those jumps had taken us much farther than I expected they would. 

I stood up after a grunt of effort, returned to Secre and hoisted her still unconscious form onto my back. With heavy footsteps I walked into the river, the deeper that I went the colder the water got and it soaked into my boots nearly instantly. I decided to worry about the dead later, on my back there was a living comrade who needed my help. So I set off, walking with the current.

* * *

** Authors notes: **

** Well that's part 2 of the exposition done. Next chapter expect Secre to actually speak. **

**I was going to post this yesterday but the doc editor on this website pissed me off when it timed out. Well whatever chapters here now so no harm done. Beyond that I changed my mind about titling each chapter.**

**Next chapter comes out before Sunday November 15.**

**Well then ladies and gentlemen that's it from me, leave a review and goodbye for now.**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I realised I do not own the word 'Realise,' and I used it a lot last chapter. For that I am sorry. On the topic of not owning things, I do not own Black Clover.

This is a short one, see Authors notes about next chapter.

* * *

It was after the first peaks of dusk that the devil chose to remind me of his presence. I was still making my way through the water when he spoke up.

' **Read her Ki.'** He commanded.

"Why would I do that?"

' **Because you need rest and I can't have you passing out in a river just to drown.'**

"Devil, Secre needs help." I had my pathetic try at a snarl.

' **No, she does not. You need rest.'**

"Devil-"

' **Read her Ki and you will understand.'** The Devil raised the tone of his disembodied voice floating through my thoughts.

Reluctantly I extended my awareness. The flowing of the river water made her Ki difficult to read, and I became annoyingly aware of the cold water that sloshed with every step I took. Eventually I managed to pick out Secre's Ki and noticed that it was fluctuating, almost the same way when somebody is casting a spell, only much weaker than it should. Upon noticing the abnormality I started trying to push my pace up from a trudge to a jog but my body refused to cooperate. In a panic I started hyperventilating and my mind swarmed with the idea that I would be letting another comrade die, until the devil spoke.

' **What is the girl's magic?'** He asked, a hint of his annoyance bleeding into the panic that was my mind.

"Devil, that's not important right now. She is dying." I tried to shout but my voice was barely a whimper.

' **And if you keep going, you will succumb to exhaustion, fall into the river and both freeze to death over the night.'** He informed me, and I hated that he was right, ' **With that settled, I ask you, what is her magic?'**

"Secre, can use her mana to seal objects. But how does that help?"

' **What can you feel her mana doing?'**

"Fluctuating but that is-"

' **And what did she do when you got hurt during the war?'**

I had to think for a minute before answering, "Seal my injuries away so that they could be healed later?"

' **Good, there is a rock bank ahead of you, minimize your footprints.'** I tried to follow his instructions but when I walked out of the river, water drained from my boots, and I ended up leaving small trenches where my feet dragged behind me. I tried to look around but I was not alert enough to recognize my surroundings.

' **Walk about 15 meters ahead.'** I left a heavy trail of footprints and I rendered the material of the ground becoming harder, ' **Good, now rest.'**

With that little bit of assurance I collapsed to the ground. I tried my best to shift Secre's body into a somewhat comfortable position. She was rather light but my arm was still numb from carrying her, so I moved my right hand over my left forearm to try and comfort it before I passed out, my back on the cold hard ground.

The sleep was empty and restless, bringing no dreams other than the image of Marie's terrified face looking back at me. My senses took their time to calibrate. The first two things that registered were the soreness of my body and the dryness of my throat. I tried to move but as soon as I tried to shift my balance and sit up, the searing pain of needles in my joints shot through my body. I slumped back onto my back only to be greeted with another wave of pain. Choosing to give time for my eyes to focus I remained still for a couple of moments until I was greeted with what looked like the roots of a tree protruding from what should have been an abandoned dugout shelter. As my body woke up my nose was surprised by the scent of smoke, and to add to that surprise I was not freezing cold. I could feel shrubbery or some form of insulation helping me retain some of my heat, and science there was nobody trying to kill us. I decided it would be okay to lie for a couple of minutes until my body was up and running again.

Several minutes must have passed before I tried getting up again, though still painful it was manageable. This time after attempting to get up I felt a hand on my shoulder steadying me, and I sat up somewhat straight.

I tried to turn my head to see the source of the hand but my neck was still too sore to effectively move. Once again extending my Ki I felt for the person behind me. Relief hit me like a charging bull when I felt Secre's Ki behind me. I did not need the death of another comrade on my conscience.

After taking a breath I tried to croak out a sentence, that was when I noticed just how dry my throat was. My voice came out as an ineffable grunt, a noise that you would usually associated with royalty choking on food during a banquet. Something that was almost a cough but had a dry, desperate rasp to go along with it.

Secre shifted her position and moved her knee to straighten my lower back while using her hand to keep my head steady while she brought a canteen to my lips. The riverwater felt angelic as it passed through my lips and hydrated my throat. I desperately drank the cool liquid until I choked on it and sent a fair amount down my shirt. The cold on my skin surprised me, making me recoil and lurch forward. Coupled with the frantic coughing while trying to restrain my movement to limit the pain my muscles were in must have been quite an amusing site.

A couple of painstaking seconds later I calmed down and adjusted myself to be able to see Secre kneeling roughly a foots distance away from me. I looked at Secre and was surprisingly greeted with an unnaturally warm smile.

"I-" she started before resigning herself to a more formal tone, "It is good to see you awake. You were out for quite a while." She finished.

I responded with a smile which faded quickly, after noticing her pupils were off. "How is your head? You were hurt pretty bad."

She winced before responding, "I have sealed most of the damage and will focus on recovering later. However your injuries are more… _Immediate_." She emphasized the word.

Noticing something was off I inquired further, "Secre, I was not injured-"

"That's what is strange about it. Though you did not suffer any serious bodily harm from our past altercation, other than a few cuts and bruises, tour muscles and bones are worn out. Almost like you were using the devil power for way longer than you should be able to, so the toll it usually takes on your body was amplified."

I took my eyes off of Secre and unsure of where to look i focused on the fire hole, after running a couple of ideas over in my head I demanded an explanation, "Devil?"

The dark voice in my head was more than happy to reply. ' **Now now, my Host, Your husk needed my power or you would have collapsed in that river.'** He informed me in a rather satisfied tone, ' **If anything you should be thanking me for my efforts to keep you alive.'**

"I see. Thank you." I replied, choosing to take his word for it.

It was then that Secre once again chose to speak up, a hint of concern tainting her usually monotonous voice, "Asta, who are you talking to?"

It was only then that I realised that whenever I was taking to the devil I had been referring to him aloud. I sighed, Depending on how understanding Secre chose to be, this could be a very complicated explanation. "I made a deal with my devil." I started, "Giving him more access to… well 'me' but getting more power in return."

Relievingly, having used it before, she was familiar with the realms of forbidden magic, and was comfortingly understanding. "I can seal it away for you-"

I cut her off, "No, Its alright. I made the deal, its my job to honor it." I could feel the devil's presence in the back of my mind, more so than usual.

' **I live within your mind, I know all your thoughts. You need not speak to address me. It will allow us to communicate with far fewer… complications.'** After tucking that little bit of information into my mind for later, I tried standing only for my body to explode with pain before being pushed down by Secre.

"You need to rest, just look at your hand, or maybe your legs, those are in a considerably worse condition."

True enough there were red swollen streaks where the black tendrils that would display my Devils power once covered my skin. Making an amusing weblike pattern that lined my body. I also saw that my boots and socks were missing.

"Secre we need to get moving. The sooner we get to the captain the sooner we can sort this mess out."

This time there was a visible dash of pain that washed over her ruby eyes, making her look unusually sad, "Asta, for the kingdom to prosecute magic knights without the Captains presence means that the whole branch is taking the fall for the war against the Kotodama Devil and the reincarnations."

It took a while, and I tried to dispute, but the words sunk in. King Julius had warned us that something like this would happen. Even if unexpected circumstances had not robbed King Julius of his power, the magic king is not the top of the hierarchy in the Kingdom. He was more along the lines of the head of the military than the real king, for he lacked the royal royal bloodline needed for one to be a ruler. I hated to admit it but Secre was right.

I hardened my wits before speaking, "Secre can you seal away the damage to my body."

"You need rest."

"And we need to get back to the rest of the squad. Secre please." I pleaded.

She let out a heavy sigh, "At least rest while I work."

I layed back down and watched as her grimoire levitated beside her. She set to sealing away my pains, and I did not want to admit that I enjoyed letting the relief of rest take me. Having no distraction my mind flashed to the people I had killed, Marie at the forefront of that picture. But a restless rest was better than no rest at all, and I took pleasure at having somebody there with me. I closed my eyes, and allowed my comrade to work.

* * *

Well not much to say for todays authors notes other than that Genshin is a great way to spend your free time. Mihoyo spear a lonely Ias0nas some 5 stars, please?

On the topic of chapters I know that this one was too short, and I don't want to give an excuse, so there will be another one out before next **Monday** **November 23.**

Anyways thank you for reading and to any loons still in November, may God be with you. I considered talking about the US elections but I don't want to loose readers, so that's it from me ladies and gentlemen. Goodbye for now.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: This chapter came out 2 weeks late, and I still don't own black clover.

Note: Go see the Auth notes if you want my excuse, and about the next chapter.

* * *

I was not expecting much when I woke up. Based on how my luck had been going, the best I was hoping for was a marginal decrease in soreness, at least to an extent that would allow for somewhere near my normal range of motion. Secre’s seal, however, exceeded all of my expectations.

When I came to awareness again I no longer felt like I had been tied to a horse and dragged along gravel for a full day. Mind you, not feeling like you just got road hauled does set the bar pretty low, but I would take whatever I could get. I cautiously lifted myself off of the ground to test my body. Instead of the soreness and pain that I felt before Secre’s seal felt like somebody had dipped a string in resin and glued it lengthwise along my legs leading up to my torso, an invisible seam holding back the damage caused by my previous altercation.

After a couple of stretches to test my comrade’s handiwork I decided that the seal felt less like a string and more like a seam that desperately wanted to burst or a rope that was holding up more than you thought it would and you were wondering how the rope was not breaking. 

Deciding to trust my friend seal and satisfied with her work I took a minute to properly look around the cave. It was a small dugout that could have been used by travelers or hunters for any number of things. It had enough space to serve as a somewhat temporary shelter and store equipment, and it had a good-sized opening that as far as I could tell would not collapse unless pushed to the extreme. All and all it was the type of shelter that back in my home village of Hage, the kids in the orphanage and I would have been delighted to try and make, well until either the Father of the church we lived in or Sister Lily told us off. 

The fire hole was a wonderful invention, that was a u-shaped tunnel under the earth, one end you would build a fire and the other would serve to give a consistent airflow, less Smoak is produced and when you are done with it you can just collapse the tunnel and bury any evidence of your being there. 

“Secre, may the god of light bless your soul.” I mumbled to myself as I saw that my boots, pants, and socks had been dried at the fire. For a second I thought I had heard a ghost of a scoff in the back of my mind but chose to ignore it. The fire may have burned to nothing more than some glowing ashen coals, coupled with the ground it still held enough heat to warm the fabrics of my now dried garments. Compared to the ground the warm fabric felt heavenly. The heat soothed my legs as it flowed through my skin, to be in dry boots was also a relieving turn of events. Before getting in order to go out and look for Secre I made a quiet resolution that I would actively try my best to avoid dragging myself through any rivers in the near future.

Before I left I took a moment to let my mind again wonder to the people I had in Hage. The prosecutor said that all who were affiliated with me were under trial, or something of the sort. After a couple of seconds in sober thought, I remembered that the kingdom had never cared enough about the Forsaken realms to really enforce anything there. Outside of taxes which were usually handled by the Purple Orcas squad of magic knights, only the Black bulls squad was occasionally sent to hunt down killers and deal with dirty disputes that could blow over on the rest of the kingdom but were too far down the social ladder for the more noble born Magic Knight squadrons to handle. 

Walking out of the shelter my eyes did not take too long to adjust. It was late early afternoon and most of the sun was unobscured by lazy clouds floating far above. I took a couple of paces heading away from the entrance, the air was pleasant. The type you could only get during the short periods in the century of spring and autumn, where it has a healthy chill to combat the sun, so that you are neither sweltering nor freezing. The weather where it is a bit too cool to properly enjoy sitting in the shade of a tree unless you enjoy feeling a couple of shivers as the cool breeze blows on your skin.

I saw Secre in her Swallow form. Taking the shape of a small black bird with a large spot of red on its face and a white underbelly. Transformation was an inherent part of her sealing magic, letting her lock herself away into the form of a bird. However, being trapped in that form for a couple hundred of years, was what let her be a remnant from the time of the first Magic King. 

She flew down from a branch and landed on top of my head, the little claws on her feet pushed against my scalp. After getting a seemingly comfortable sitting position on my hair, at least I think it's comfortable, but hey I can’t transform into a bird. Her voice in her bird form was a fair couple of pitches higher than her usual one and had a very distinct almost nasal accent, like thick air being blown through a very low pitched brass horn but not annoying.

“Are you ready to head out?” She questioned.

“Let’s go.”

“I scouted while you slept, The Main road to the Capital is a ways out east, the mountain range that 

separates the common from the forsaken realms is about 3 days trek if we move fast.” She said as she pointed east with her wing, after seeing the black wing pointing me onward I started walking.

“Then that’s three days until we’re back to base,” I asked, walking in the general direction of north.

Maintaining a steady yet purposeful pace I walked in what I believed to be the general direction of north, trusting in Secre’s scene of direction. 

XxX

It must have been an hour or two of walking in comfortable trusting silence. I did not have much to say, and looking ahead of me helped me from thinking too much about past events. To say I was worried about how I would break the news to Gauche was an understatement. 

It was then that Secre Chose to speak up, “Asta, Can you do something for me?”

Even with her ‘bird’ voice, I could feel the concern in her voice, “Sure, anything you need.” I replied.

With that, I felt a light push, and a gust of air as I heard a quiet flap of wings, Secre flew up in front of me and in a puff of smoke transformed back into her human form. The ever-present bags that complimented the deep red color of her eyes were a couple of shades darker and I felt bad for sleeping while she kept watch.

“Asta, look up.”

Feeling the concern in her voice I reached out to her Ki. Finding no malicious feelings I did as she commanded, and tilted my head 90 degrees backward to look straight up.

“Like this?” I asked.

I heard a heavy sight before Secre spoke up again, “Admittedly,” she spoke in a tone that you use when you know the result of something but hold out hope that by some miracle it turners out better, “That was my fault for not giving you clear enough directions.”

“Keep your head facing me and then look up, tell me what you see.” She rephrased.

Following her instructions, I scrunched my brow and shifted my eyes to as high of an angle as I could without moving my head. There was nothing out of the ordinary with the local flora and no matter how hard I tried I could not sense any foreign Ki above us. It took me a while but I figured it out right as I opened my mouth to talk.

There was a pointed black mass above my head, almost reminiscent of the horn I grew when actively using my Devil’s power. It had the same curve near the base, and still pointed forward, but it was far smaller than it would have been during my transformation.

Curiously I reached out with one hand and touched it. It had the silky yet rigid texture of keratin, reminiscent of a human nail, where if you paid close enough attention you could feel the gentle ridges along the grain of the structure.

My expression must have been quite amusing because Secre shifted a bit, holding back a laugh as I tried tugging on the horn a couple of times. I confirmed that the horn was thoroughly stuck on to my head. The horn did not have a direct feeling, where pulling on it was more like touching your hair; you knew what you were touching and you could feel it at the root, but the structure itself had no sense of touch.

It took me a while to come to the fairest conclusion and state the obvious, “I have a horn?”

“Amongst other things.” She confirmed with a hint of a smile.

“Like yours?” I asked looking at the pettiet pair of upwards pointed devil horns a ways above each one of her ears.

Within seconds all traces of amusement left her face as it returned to its usual stone-cold visage, “The real question is, Asta, it’s been well over a day since you have last eaten. Do you feel hungry?”

Still unsure of what she was getting at I reluctantly answered, “No, why?”

“As you said, during every usage of its power the Devil gives you energy and takes some of your in return. After every transformation, you either eat like a pig, or pass out and then eat like a pig. You are also being unnaturally quiet, and it’s scaring me.” I started to understand what she was getting at before she finished her sentence. “I want to know if I’m talking to Asta or the Devil. And how you can prove that.” After she finished her question she looked pained, and I felt responsible for the expression she made as she looked away from me.

It took me a while, I met Secre a couple of weeks after I got my Grimoire and subsequently had my soul attached to the devil possessing said Grimoire, I did not have any experiences that the devil would not be aware of. ‘Devil, why do I have a horn?’ I echoed inside my thoughts.

He made me wait a bit before choosing to answer, **‘All those who choose to wander into the realm of so-called** **_forbidden_ ** **magic are marked for the rest of the world to Judge. How or why, I do not know, think it as a fundamental role of forbidden techniques. Making a contract with a devil counts as one of those forbidden techniques.’** ****

‘I see, And why am I not hungry?’

**‘Because hunger would distract you, think it a boon from a friend.’**

I then realised that I did not like somebody messing with the body that I had spent a touch over 16 years cultivating to be the strongest non magic enhanced human in Kingdom Clover, ‘Devil, let me feel.’

**‘As you wish.’** He dismissed my request and within a second the intense pain in my stomach made me keel over, **‘Enjoy feeling the past two days worth of accumulated hunger in a matter of seconds.’**

Falling to the ground the intense pain made me cough and belch up a sour mouthful of empty bile. Within a second Secre was by my side helping me lean down and making sure that I did not choke on any of the acidic fluid that I just coughed up. After a heavy cough, I managed a raspy call directed to my devil. 

“Devil, I take it back, please turn it off!!”

At that instant, the pain in my abdomen faded leaving me on my knees breathing a bit shakily. I spat as much bile as I could out of my mouth and then took slow sips of water holding them in and swirling them around my mouth before spitting them out to wash out the vile flavor. I gave up on trying to find something really good to say, so I chose to tell secre what the devil had told me.

“Devil contracts count as forbidden magic so the horns are more or less the same as yours. Now as for hunger, the Devil said that it would distract me, and when I asked him to stop, he gave me all the hunger he had been repressing from the last time I ate.”

“I see, But there is one question that persists unanswered.” She acknowledged with a bit of a wince.

I did not have anything I could say to convince her, so I chose the truth, “Secre, I met you after I was possessed, and the devil lives in my mind anyway, I don’t have any way to convince you that I’m me. And you wanted to know why I’ve been ‘quiet’, I feel tired, what happened at the trial is not right, it- it’s just not right.” I said looking into the red halos that surrounded her pupils. 

“No, It’s not. Can we continue walking?” I nodded and she transformed back into her bird form. “Keep going north. I will fly up and scout ahead,” she told me.

XxX

I continued to walk in silence, nothing other than the sound of leaves being crushed under my boots to keep me company. The weather felt cooler in the forest and it ended up sending the occasional shiver through my spine as I walked. It must have been a couple of hours worth of walking until the devil decided to amuse himself.

**‘Just like the others, she’s not there when you need her.’** He jested

‘She went to scout the area ahead.’

**‘She won’t return, give me the command and I will sense for a place to rest. Whether you arrive a**

**couple of hours sooner or later the condition of your comrades will remain unchanged.’**

‘Secre would not abandon me, Let me be Devil!’ I tried putting force into the words but it only made my inner demon chuckle.

**‘If that’s what you truly believe...’** His voice mockingly sounded once again before once again retreating to the depths of my mind.

Walking by myself I was once again left to ponder and the horn then I was now painfully aware protruded from my temple. Nasty thing about the human mind is that nothing good will come of you leaving it alone for too long. I hated the fact that I allowed what the devil said to get to me and as I moved forward with no apparent goal in sight I felt increasingly alone. Secre was almost always within my line of sight in her transformed form. I was so used to being surrounded by people that this aimless loneliness was starting to unnerve me. What made it worse was that whenever I tried to sense Secre’s or any foreign Ki I found nothing. 

Not a lot of time passed before my troubles were quelled and my angst was soothed. I saw the small form of a bird land on the horn on my head. I could see the taloned feet wrap around a thin area near the point of the horn as the bird faced towards my left before turning her head to directly face me and speak.

“We are a days and a half walk at our current pace.” Said the squeaky voice before jumping up and settling onto my hair.

“Times like this I wish I could fly a broom. But hey remember that time I raced Yuno to the capital?”

“I think you raced him back to Hage, but yes?” She replied

‘Devil.’ I addressed in my mind, ‘How long can that power last without leaving me like before? The one you used for the river.’

**‘If you keep a level head, till the flesh falls off your bones and your corpse is left to me to do as I please.’**

With that confirmation I Took off with a brisk jog, feeling the rush the black veins gave and seeing my new horn grow more profound. 

At some point I recalled Secre speaking up, “Asta, I apologize...”

* * *

Authors Notes:

Well, this came out way too late. And here wanted to apologise for the shortness of the last chapter. But hey Finding out you have tests to cram for takes to eat up a lot of free time. I will be done with said tests by the end of next week so I will then have more time to write.

On that note, I don't have much else o add to today's notes. For next chapter, I feel a light tingling in my loin meaning that we will be getting a nice bit of action and bloodshed. That's a completely normal thing to get excited for, right? Next chapter will be out before December Monday 21st, not that I have been great at sticking to my word for updates.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own black clover. Or do I... But seriously I don't own black clover.**

**This was a short one. See Auth notes about next chapter.**

* * *

By all estimates, we were around an hour away from the base, Secre had once again left to fly ahead and bring word to the captain before we reached and I was jogging at a steady pace in her direction. With every subsequent step that I took hope filled me. The surrounding forests had truly devolved into the lush, unmaintained greenery that decorated the far reaches of Kingdom Clover. Every step that I took was one step closer to my current goal, where the captain would help clear up this whole mess and things could return to normal. I was excited to see my comrades, to feel the scene of security that our headquarters provided.

For some time I remained hopeful, but after a certain point, people go through enough shit to have a sort of sixth sense for when something is not about to go their way. It is different for everybody, whether it be an empty feeling in your gut or an extreme state of pessimism. And for everybody, it has a different trigger, whether it be waking up in the morning, or seeing an omen. Today my trigger was a healthy mouthful of the distinct scent put off by finely burnt flesh and hair, a heavy aroma that clung to the air like hot tar on fabric, an aroma that was only commonly associated with two things. Disease and battle.

As I approached the clearing the assault on my nostrils grew more and more intense, and with it, my nerves went haywire. The past week's events did not sit well with me, and I was having trouble thinking positive thoughts. Instinctively I reached out with my Ki, looking to feel the terrain ahead of me, and what I found disturbed me.

Like a concerto of terrible flavors, the scent reached its crescendo as I burst into the clearing, the perfect accompaniment for the picturesque scene from hell. The base was in tatters, and unrecognizable bodies haphazardly littered the scene, I could identify some of the different types of magic that were used in the battle. Magna's signature techniques being the culprit for the horrible scent.

It was then that I saw Secre, a ways ahead of me, looking into a pile of rubble she stood perfectly still. I approached her to get a good look at what had her so shaken.

Through my trek to Secres position, I tried my best to avert my eyes from the occasional corpse that decorated the battlefield, their mangled shapes each telling a story of how their fates came to be. I reached her and looked into the rubble.

If you knew the man when he was alive, seeing his pale skin reflecting the light while he himself lay perfectly still would not have been an odd sight. The only indicator of Henry's death was the scarlet pool of blood he rested in.

The emotional attachment I held to the person made my stomach churn, and for a few seconds, I was ready to throw up. Everything has a unique Ki and when I entered the clearing I stopped taking in the Ki of my surroundings, so as to not feel into the corpses. I was getting desperate for answers.

I pushed as much will and concentration into sensing for Ki as I could at that moment, desperately grasping for a faint bit of hope. At first, I could only feel cold. An artificial chill that settled upon my bones, the painful numbness of icy needles scraping along my flesh. Amongst the overwhelming feeling of death when I was blessed with the dwindling warmth of life, I clung to it and sought it out.

Startling Secre with my sudden take off I sprinted towards a significantly larger portion of rubble and started digging. It may have been faint but I knew what I felt. Each piece of rubble that I moved and subsequently discarded, was once a bit of my home. Perhaps this was the first time that I truly understood that even if we sorted through this mess with me being dubbed an accomplice for the Kotodama Devil things would never be the same.

There was no more base to return to and with Henry's passing the damned thing would never be rebuilt, at least not in the same way. For all my time as a Black Bull and fighting in a war, I had never had a comrade die. As magic knights, we were expected to lay down our lives at a moment's notice, yet somehow seeing the aftermath of a friend doing just that felt a lot more lackluster than I had been led to believe. Magic King Julius had told me that the magic knights system was a meritocracy and every deed for the geed of the kingdom was rewarded, yet I could not find any merit in dying.

I was freed from my thoughts when the rubble suddenly shifted to reveal a small opening in the mountain of brokes stone and bricks. I was greeted to the kneeling form of my captain, Yami Sukehiro. I could see why the warmth in his Ki was so week when I found it.

The man had the majority of his right arm encased in the rubble, blood had congealed around where appendage met stone forming a disgusting slime that coated the rock. The rest of him was not in mutch better condition. He was covered in Gashes of various sizes while his blade lay unsheathed a ways away from him.

I do not know how long I spent digging him out only to find his arm was mangled beyond repair. I tried to hold out hope that we could take another trip to the forest where the witches dwelt in the no man's land between the for the kingdom. The witches were masters of medicine and had healed my injuries when they were too severe for conventional doctors.

At some point in the process, I recalled Secre joining me until we had freed our Leader. The man was unconscious and as I leaned back Secre, once again proving herself resourceful and finding medical supplies in the rubble, Set to cleaning and covering his injuries.

"Near Henry." Secre broke the empty silence between us, "We should bury them."

I stood up and walked to where I had last seen henry. There were four more bodies that had been laid out next to him, all of them once belonged to my friends. There lay Charmy, the Black Bulls cook; Venesa, our resident exhibitionist/alcoholic; Finral, spatial magic-user and Captain Yami's favorite form of transportation; and Gray, our shy but ever so helpful transformation magic-user. This time I could not hold myself back. I walked off towards the forest to try to vomit and shed a few tears.

xXx

I took some time to sit in my sorrow before returning. I was glad that Secre did not come to try and make me feel better. When I returned she had started to dig a grave near where the entrance of the base once would have sat. I let out a tired sigh before grabbing a hoe and helping her dig. Time went by and graves were dug, our comrades buried. We raided what was left of the kitchen for some spirits and bread to leave as offerings for our friends, for them to have something for their passing. That night we could not find any parting words to say, so we made peace at just staring at the row of five crosses.

It did not take much deliberation for us to decide on how to handle the rest of the corpses. We chose to dig a mass grave just past the clearing. I lost count of how many bodies were thrown in after the 30th corpse was dropped into the hole. We covered the grave and did not bother making any offerings for our enemies.

By the time we were done the stars shone above us and neither of us were in any mood to talk. We managed to drag a couple of cots out of the rubble and that night we slept without lighting a fire.

* * *

**Notes:**

**Well, I had planned for this chapter to be much longer, but things don't always go according to plan.**

**The friend that I usually have beta my writing was not available for this chapter so if u see any massive grammar errors tell me and they will be fixed.**

**You know, I've had a couple of people tell me they are loving the story so far. And all I can say is thank you, Knowing that people are enjoying this means a lot to me. If I was better at expressing gratitude I would find some elaborate way to thank you but you will have to settle with my word that this story will not be left to rot. I started it and I'm planning to finish it.**

**On another note, my Christmas break just started so I will have more time to write. Expect another chapter within the next week, and it will be a longer one. Finally almost done with building up the exposition that will set the stage for some of the future events.**

**Well that's five chapters in and the story is starting to take shape so leave a review. Anyways ladies and gentlemen, that's it from me. I'm going to go get some sleep, sweet beautiful sleep.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: What can we really say we own, what is ownership? Well, it is a concept that we place faith in. And I can put all my faith behind the statement that I do not own Black Clover**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

My lack of sleep that night made me happy, I did not want to recall any of the past events. Yet a part of me was not particularly eager to get out of bed either. Somewhat content with letting times pass and hoping for better things to just come right up to me. Who was I kidding?

After looking up at the sky which had just started to brighten, I clenched my eyes shut for a couple of seconds before opening them to clear some of the morning draughts. In one fluid motion I shoved off my covers, rolled off of the bed, to the floor and began my morning routine of doing push ups. 

As the exercise was an endless loop of bringing myself to the ground before pushing away, I let my mind wander:

‘Why am I still doing this?’ I found myself asking.

I was both relieved and surprised when a voice answered,  **‘Because it is your daily routine.’**

The devil was right, yet that answer gave me no satisfaction, ‘but what’s the point? Why keep going?’

**‘Because, Asta,** **_We_ ** **have goals to accomplish. Weren’t you going to become the next Wizard King? Or whatever petty nonsense you used to motivate yourself,’.**

Right, I remembered. That was my goal. That was why I joined the Black Bulls. That was the dream that both I and my best friend Yuno shared, that was our rivalry. Yet why did it feel so pointless?

I snapped out of my thoughts as I finished that particular set. Standing up I saw Secre seated on my bed with a tray of slightly dusty bread and some ham. 

Her voice sounded far too weak and it saddened me to hear, “It’s been at least three days, Eat.” She said before pushing the tray toward me. I shot her a sideways glance which I was thankful she understood, and answered appropriately, “I already had my fill. And we still need to see what else we can save from the Kitchen. The Icebox survived but I don’t know about the pantry.”

I thanked her and sat next to her before taking the tray. I looked down at the bread and realised I had no appetite.    
“How’s Captain Yami doing?” I ended up asking.

“Stable enough, but still unconscious. I have sealed the smaller wounds but I don’t know what to do about the arm.”

“And how are you?” I asked immediately realizing how stupid my question was. I was about to correct myself when she spoke up.

“You were more attached to them than I was. I’ll be fine.” 

Choosing to leave it at that I went back to staring at my food. Deciding to try and force myself to consume for the sake of nutrients I picked up the loaf. I was almost surprised by the black veins that I saw running along my hands up my arms and into my sleeves. I put down the loaf and felt over one of the veins that ran up my forearm. Focusing on what I felt I realized that the power that ran along the veins was intoxicating. It was the same power that I felt at the Courthouse but less out of control.

I chose to contact he who had been my primary source of counsel since this fiasco got underway.

‘Devil?’ And sensing my question he replied,

**‘The full extent of our current contract, think it a gift, to null your pain and fill you with...’** He paused for a couple of seconds to think of the correct word to use,  **‘Vigour.’**

**‘Would you like to feel what is being suppressed?’** The Devil asked in a more understanding tone that I thought possible for a demon. 

I took a long couple of seconds to think of the merits of stopping the suppression of my pain, and I could see numerous, but alas I chose to allow some of my weakness to bleed through. I could not be of any use to Secre and the Captain if I was drowning in sorrow.

‘No, Keep it on a little longer.’ I admitted expecting to find guilt and was surprised when none hit me.

**‘Very well, but only if you eat. Even my power has its limits and I can’t keep sustaining you for much longer. At least not without another contract.’**

And with that being said I was looking at that damned bread again. My hand shook as I picked up the loaf. 

“Asta?” Secre asked.

“Sorry,” I sighed and brought the food to my mouth. Eating when you don’t want to is not a fun experience. The food was cold and the meal that I would have adored had it been under different circumstances tasted like cardboard. Each bite felt like It got stuck at my throat and took the form of a solid lump waiting to be pushed down by the next mouthful. I got into the ritual of miserably filling my stomach until I had finished my portion, washing the last lump down with a couple swallows of water. 

The meal did not provide me any pleasure, and a part of me wanted to throw it back up but the devil was right, I needed to feed myself. I left the plate on my bed and looked at Secre, she looked tired. I wanted to reassure her that things would eventually work out but I did not have it in me to force myself to lie to her.

I did not want to do anything but with a navy exhale I got off the bed and offered her a hand to help her up, a small gesture of appreciation. She accepted the hand and for a split second I thought it felt really nice, her skin was soft, well, softer than mine, and her hand was warm. It was comforting. 

“Let's go see what else we can scavenge from the rubble,” I said as I moved back towards the ruins of our base of operations. Secre followed me with a nod.

xXx

When we finished sorting through what we could Identify as the remainder of the Kitchen and our rooms we were left with a variety of useful items. Encased in the ruins of our home we found some relatively undamaged cookware and enough rations to last us a couple of weeks, we had gone from fifteen mouths to just three if you counted the unconscious captain. The thing I was most happy about finding undamaged was some of the clothes in my wardrobe. Changing into non-torn clothes was a welcome change, a shower would have been even better but beggars can’t be choosers. 

It was midday when we had all that we salvaged sorted into sections by our beds. We needed to think of how to go about things, now that we no longer had the safety of our base. 

Secre and I were sitting next to a fire hole we had excavated and so I decided to initiate the discussion.

“We need to go find the other members.” I decided, desperate to find more of my comrades and even more desperately hoping that they were alive and well.

Secre’s response almost angered me, “No,” she contradicted me, however after sensing the sudden decline in my already low mood she corrected herself: “We can’t move the Captain. He has too many injuries and we can’t risk my seals failing.”

I understood what she was saying but then I thought back to how she could seal her injuries away and even turn herself into a bird without the seals ‘Failing’. So I ended up getting annoyed with her and snapping back, “But you sealed your injuries before, and you can turn into a fucking bird, that’s this big.” I said throwing my hands out into the rough size of her when she transformed into Nero. 

She stayed surprisingly patient with me before explaining, “Because that is my own body under my own magic. Both of things that I am familiar with. My seals will not last long on the captain. Why do you think that after the war you needed an  _ actual _ doctor?”

“Oh,” I answered, suddenly feeling extraordinarily stupid. Suddenly in a rare flash of brilliance, I remembered something that could help us with our current predicament: “In Hage, I lived in an orphanage,” I started talking, after confusing secre as to how that had importance in our current predicament I continued, “There one of the Sisters, Sister Lilly, She uses, water magic, and she can heal injuries. She would always heal our injuries whenever we got hurt.”

Secre understood but chose to bring up our other problem, “How will we get captain Yami to her. Were still wanted fugitives.”

“I can bring her here. I can use the Black Asta transformation to get to Hage in a couple of hours.”

“Then go. I will move captain Yami a bit deeper into the forest west of the base. When you get back use our Ki to find us.”

Before she got up to move her head turned, “Lilly? As in the one you were screaming about marrying and everybody thought you were a sis-con because we did not know she was a nun?”

I rubbed my head just now remembering that one of my reasons for wanting to be Magic King was to win her over and bring money to Hage. 

With that being said, I steeled my resolve. A part of me is excited to see the people at Hage again. I got up and pushed forth my will. My grimoire answered my call and flew out of my belt. The book opened and turned upside down to allow my demon slayer sword to drop out of the pages. The massive rusted hunk of steel embedded itself into the ground, I wrapped my fingers around the handle and felt the power flowing through the blade.

This time I was concentrating. I drew on the same power that my devil’s contract gave me access to and I felt it power my transformation. The horn on my head grew heavier and the dark veins along my body extended painting my entire right arm black. I took A minute to look at it before nodding to Secre and pointing my blade north.

Channeling the power through the blade and into my body I flapped the single wing that My transformation gave me. The ground rushed below me too fast to take in any of the minute details that denied the terrain.

Eventually, I started losing momentum and falling back down. It was one of the times that I wished I had the mana to fly a broom. I ended crashing feet first into the ground, shooting up dirt and carving a gorge into the ground. More dirt was thrown into the air as I kicked off again. 

To make the shortest time I had taken to following next to a road that led to Hage. The process of me leaping off into the air and landing back down continued until Hage was in sight. In my final jump, I Spotted a hooded figure kneeling to the side of the road. There were not Many nuns in Hage so it would either be sister Lily or some newcomer. Either way, it was worth checking out.

I landed a few meters in front of the kneeling figure and unintentionally sent dirt and mud flying. This startled the figure who got off her knees and lunged backward. I sensed the area for different Ki signatures and it was clearly sister Lilly. 

She would have looked beautiful was she not frozen in fear. She cried a single tear before speaking:

“Asta, I’m sorry.”

This confused me, what was she sorry about? I immediately powered down my transformation causing the veins to lose their volume and return to their weblike patterns while my horn constricted back to its original size. “Sister wha?”

“Asta, run the Knights are coming,” She fell to her knees and started mumbling, “Lord of light, forgive me for my betrayal.”

“Sister, I am a Knight too.”

“I’m sorry Asta. The village needed money, after the war the crops were damaged.” She cried, “They came to search for fugitives, and the bounty for Black bulls members was massive. The father loves you too much to do it.” she said revealing what was in her hand.

The small silver Cylinder she held in her hand was clearly a magic item. And I understood what was happening when I saw the Silver Eagles crest on its side. It was just now starting to dawn on me that I had been turned in. The evidence was right in front of me yey I could not comprehend why. If it was money she needed I could send more of my salary to the orphanage, not that there was much left but it was still something.

  
  


There were people coming after me, the same people who had killed my friends, yet I could not bring myself to truly care. I set to walk off towards Hage but Sister Lilly grabbed my arm. 

“Asta, please. Don’t go. The father will help you and then he will be arrested. Please run away, It’s a death sentence for anybody who aids a Black Bulls fugitive.”

This stopped me in my tracks, I could not do that to Father. Or anybody in the orphanage, I could not afford to lose any more. I felt betrayed, but that soon turned to anger. The devil was clearly not doing a good enough job at suppressing my emotions. 

Feeling lost on what to do I looked back to my goal for coming here. If nothing else I would bring a healer to fix my captain. I needed to bring Lily back but I was too distraught to hone my power to jump/fly back to base.

I realized I would need to fight whoever came to arrest me. And I was just itching for a fight right now. It was then when the devil chose to be ever so helpful.

**‘She will interfere in our battle. Immobilize her.’**

I understood what he was getting at, Sister Lily was strongly opposed to violence. She would definitely try to stop me. ‘How?’ I asked the devil.

**‘Her legs. Break them. You will be carrying her anyways.’**

My grip on the hilt of my blade tightened, I looked at Lily’s shins intensely. Thankfully my stomach lurched and I felt Disgusted in myself.

‘NO FUCKING WAY’ I shouted back in my head.

To which the devil only calmly replied,  **‘Have you any other ideas?’**

I looked around desperately. I was surrounded by trees. It was then that I got an idea on how to demobilize sister Lily without harming her. I made my way over to a tree and used my sword to gouge out a chunk of earth near the trunk. I then moved back to Sister, grabbed her, and dragged her to the hole. I Forced her to lie down into it. I then powered a black divider and cut cleanly through the trunk of the nearby tree.

As the log started to fall I embedded the sword into the ground and grabbed the massive log. I lay it down over sister Lilly to immobilize her. The trench was deep enough so the weight would not crush her but would still immobilize her. The perfect solution.

I then retrieved my blade and returned to the road to sit and wait. Now I could finally have some small bit of revenge.

xXx

It did not take long for me to be snapped into the present by foreign voices. It was a group of three Silver Eagle members.

They were not paying any attention to me.

“Hey is that kid really a wanted fugitive?”

“Just look at his crest.”

“What about that hunk of steel, can he even swing that thing?”

“Who cares, we just have to bring his head to captain Nozel and we will be promoted for sure.”

“Are you sure it was Ok to handle this without his permission?”

“We just have to bring in the fugitive and he will surely promote us.”

My heart spiked before calming down. Captain Nozel was too strong. I could not afford to get into a fight with him. This needed to end before something went wrong. 

I grabbed my Sword and powered a Black divider. The eternal blade took form and in a swift motion, I decapitated two of the three Knights. It did not last long enough as the blood sprayed freely I lunged away to make the distance between myself and the third member of their squad.

The kills provided me with no satisfaction, the fight was too easy and winning it did not feel earned. I looked at the third member hoping he would bear more of a challenge.

“Bastard, THEY WERE MY FRIENDS!” The man Screamed and his grimoire flew open. A spear of earth shot towards me. I resonated with what the man was feeling.

With the flat of my blade, I whacked the spear similarly to how you wack a baseball. It sent Hunks of rock flying back at the man who was not prepared to evade my counter. The rocks hit true, pummeling all over his upper body and with the dry crunch of bone caving in his head and chest.

The man’s corpse fell to the ground with a wet sound as the different bits of broken bone shifted in their bag of skin. I stood over the body. I was angry, they were supposed to be my revenge, yet it felt so empty. My friends were still dead and what had I avenged? The three that I had killed were nothing more than pawns to the greater collective, even I understood that.

I was so frustrated. All I could see was red. I lifted my blade into the air, this time not powering its dark eternal edge. I tightened my grip and brought it down upon the corpse. The blade may have technically been blunt but the rusted edge of the massive slab of steel was enough to break skin. The gore that comprised the man went flying. Time and time again I brought down that blade, forgetting about what I looked like and simply letting my wrath steer my action.

I don’t know when I would have stopped had I not taken notice of a foreign presence approaching. The intrusion started with the slow and rhythmic yet disturbingly hollow chime of clapping. I did not turn my back immediately, choosing instead to scene for their Ki. They were definitely not a magic knight I knew, their presence too heavy and tainted to be a servant of the Clover Kingdom. The Ki reminded me of the signature you felt from an inanimate object, what was even stranger were that the three figures behind me all had an almost identical Ki. 

I turned around cautiously, in all my bloodstained glory. To look at the one who had disturbed my wrath. It was a group of three men, all the exact same height and built with unblinking dark eyes that resembled gemstones. They all wore plain black cloaks and had dark flowing hair. The only difference was that one wore a plastic smile that did not seem to leave his lips. I got a good long look at them before I heard the devil speak as they continued clapping while they approached me.

**‘ASTA! RUN.’** I heard the yell in my mind.

I could not run, I was still so consumed by my rage. I tightened the grip on my sword and fed power to the eternal cutting edge to power up the black divider and sharpen the steel’s naturally blunt edge. I charged the one with the creepy unyielding smile.

The Devil once again cautioned me,  **‘Asta you can’t beat a demon that old!’**

I ignored him and felt triumph as my blade struck true. In an instant, all the clapping stopped. With a metallic clang, my foe was torn apart from the waist to the shoulder with a cut starting at the bottom of the ribcage and ending at his collar bone. Imagine my surprise when it was not blood that watered the grass but a wide assortment of gears and cogs that rattled filling the air with a metallic song. The two remaining figures stopped in their tracks and the one to my right spoke up.

“Stunning, a truly beautiful display. Cutting through a foe without hesitation.” Said the man.

I turned my back to the mechanical corpse to see the second figure, the one to my left, continue right where the first one left off, “Wearing your hatred upon your sleeves, and powerful for your age and experience.”

The voice that echoed behind me was just as cold and monotonous as the first two. Definably male but soft and almost caring. Maybe it once was caring but as the voice sounded behind me it was a hollow void, free of all compassion. My skin crawled as I turned to face him. 

“Now, my dark somber prince, ” The bronze demon kneeled even with his chest opened mechanical insides glowing in all their glory, the stretched grin never leaving his face, “May I assist you?”

* * *

Authors notes:

Well, that's chapter 6, maybe I should have put an edge warning before this one, but considering the rest of the shit in this fic I think it's alright. If anything gets any darker I will be sure to add one tho, just feels like a smart thing to do.

A piece of advice from me to you; if you're gonna buy plants from a shady shop check for pests. Now I have an ant problem. Ants have officially made it to the list of things I hate, up there with botflies, squirrels, and roaches.

The next chapter will be out before Monday, Jan 18. 

Hope oy all have had a very merry Christmas and a Happy new year, I raise a nonexistent drink to the hopeful eradication of Covid, or is that me expecting too much from 2021. Well anyways, hope this chapter entertained you, have a great day or night and that's it from me ladies and gentlemen.


	7. Chapter 7

**Before You Read: This chapter just doesn't have the right vibe, but no matter how long I sit on it, it won't get any better. Also some fat manga spoilers ahead. Oh and I don't own black clover.**

* * *

I looked down upon the form that knelt in front of me. The demon had offered to help me right after I cut him down. It all felt so wrong. I knew not what to do. Seconds passed and he still awaited my response, while I was still clueless as to what to tell him.

I was about to look to my Devil for advice, and swiftly decided against it. I had to make my own decisions. Still getting help from somebody I tried to harm did not feel right. “But I tried to kill you.”

He lifted his head and looked at me, “And I would expect nothing else, my prince.”

That was not right, why was he calling me by a title. I was not a noble, that much was for certain. It was a simple fact that royals were loved by the manna, while I was hated by it.

“I’m not royalty, are you sure you got the right guy?” I asked, wondering if he was mistaking me for somebody else.

“Why of course you are, Asta, the son of my King. I am here to repay my debts, so I ask again. May I aid you, my prince?” 

I was both bewildered and disgusted, Imagine how excited I felt to find out that an orphan like me had a past, yet a past tied with the scum we know as royalty. As my mind jumped to conclusions my hatred grew ever deeper, and the images of those who wronged me flashed through my mind.

Unsure of what to do and regretting how I greeted him I tried to argue, “But-” only to be cut off.

“Now prince, please allow me to repay my debts. And all your questions will be answered so long as you allow me to.”

I was panicked and remorseful so in a bout of confusion, I accepted his offer. The demon once again rose to his feet and with a wave of his hand, the corpses and blood began to sink into the earth, being swallowed up and leaving a fluffy moist dirt where they once lay. 

One of the Demon’s bodies grabbed my attention when it brought Sister Lily and asked, “What of this woman, shall I kill her?”

“No. I need her to heal my friends.” My mind was back in game mode, blocking out all distractions and honing my focus on the task at hand. I could not be sure what the demon’s endgame was but he so far he seemed adamant to help me and that was a lot more than the past couple of days had given me.

“I see, in that case, shall I take you to your companions first?”

I felt his Ki once again, hoping to find any clue as to his intentions. Only to be greeted to the same cold as before. What the Devil had last screamed in my head unnerved me. Why did he sound almost Fearful of the man in front of me?

“Ok, How?” I asked, choosing to trust him for the moment.

“Do not be alarmed my prince,” With that, all three of his bodies, along with sister Lilly and I started to sink into the ground. As I started to sink deeper and deeper I tried my best not to panic while the stench of sulfur filled my nostrils. The deeper I sunk the closer the erupting soil came to my face, and the more nervous I got. By the time it reached my shoulders I was thoroughly freaked out and I ended up taking a deep breath before I was consumed by the ground. I could feel my sword in hand and I tightened my grip. Better safe than sorry. 

In complete darkness, a couple of seconds in the cold felt like an eternity. I fought hard not to lose my cool and my effort was rewarded when light filled my eyes. When the road seemed to come to a stop It felt like a cocoon of soil wrapped my body. As the dirt fell from my face I lost the strength to my legs and fell to the ground gasping for air. The rest of the solid fell from me only to leave the same color of fluffy topsoil that swallowed those Magic Knights’ bodies. 

Still uneasy I got up and put my blade in front of me watching out for any form of attack while surveying my new surroundings. I was relieved to be back at the ruins of Black Bulls’ base. Taking a closer look I noticed a very surprised Secre looking back at me.

I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and let out a very high-pitched scream before realizing it was the demon from before. 

“Now, my prince, here is your nun. I trust you will handle business so we may set off.” He told me before handing me a very tied up, visibly freaked out sister Lily.

Considerably more at ease with his presence, I took Sister Lilly over to where Secre and my captain were. 

I took my time explaining to Secre what the little that the demon had told me, and she too seemed a bit skeptical of my proposed status as royalty. She ended up dividing to help me question the demon, after all, he did promise me all the answers I wanted. Calming Sister Lilly was more of an ordeal than expected, but eventually, we managed to have her tend to the captain. 

With his wounds properly closed, he was sleeping soundly, and we were assured that he would wake up in due time when his body had replenished a bit more of the blood it had lost. Sister Lilly was unable to save the arm, so in its place lay a bandaged up stump. It hurt me to look at his injury, maybe if I had gotten there sooner I could have helped out with the battle. It all felt like a massive failure on my part.

The sun had fallen and the air was starting to grow cooler. I remembered the demon and turned to find him standing right where he gave me sister Lily. I was glad that he had not intruded but still felt a bit bad for making him wait so long. I got up and made my way over to him.

“I trust that business here is concluded, and you are ready to set off.”

Secre made her way over to us before I replied, “I’m not going anywhere without my friend and captain.”

The man leaned his head forward and the shadows cleared for me to see that same smile plastered to his face. In what I could imagine to be a sigh he continued, “Of course, but it will take some more time to prepare their rooms, I hope that is not a problem.”

I felt my blade had returned to my grimoire while I was not paying attention so I looked to Secre.

She looked back at me and nodded, before replying to the Demon, “We are ready.”

The demon once again tilted his head, “Of course. Please do not be alarmed.” He was about to wave his hand and order the earth to swallow us once more but then paused.

“What of the nun?” He asked.

I was surprised he mentioned it. I had forgotten about her myself. Looking back I saw her trembling by the captain’s bed. I took a minute to observe her, trying to figure out what I felt. My heart was so cold, was it betrayal? Hatred? Or was it the Devil blocking thighs out? I tried to make up my mind, but I couldn't hate her. She had raised me, and when we were little she would treat our cuts when we hurt ourselves playing. Even if she had betrayed me, she was not a bad person; yet I could not bring myself to feel remorse. 

Sister Lily was the original reason why I wanted to become Magic King. The dream that one day I would fly down dressed in royal garb and sweep her away. Have her marry me, take the village out of poverty and be the hero of said village. I had not forgotten all of that, yet now it all seemed so pointless. I sighed internally before speaking to the demon.

“Can you send her back to Hage with your transportation spell?” I asked, receiving a nod as his answer, “Then let’s go.” 

The Demon waved his hand and we started to sink into the earth the same brown soil erupting as it swallowed us up. This time I was ready for the inability to move my feet as I sunk deeper into the ground. Secre clearly did not like the sensation, she was struggling against the earth trying to pull her feet out of the ground. I surprised myself when I felt sympathy. I lay a hand on her shoulder, and tried my best at a reassuring smile. She took notice of it and it was good to see that it worked.

This time when the soil covered my face I did not immediately lose my cool. I felt for the Ki around me and saw that now we were moving. I felt things pass me, long lost secrets that dwelt in the ground. I felt at the fabric of the demon’s spell and saw the cold unyielding power that it carried. It did not feel like manna. More precisely it was not like the manna I had felt in any other person before, yet it was so familiar. I compared it to myself, and even with my devil, this strange man’s power towered over me. I was humbled, what I felt was that I could not afford to take rage-induced swings at anybody who showed up because next time they may not be desperate to help me or repay their debts.

The final thing I felt was Secre’s Ki. I still had a hand on her shoulder and I hoped that she was taking the cold overwhelming darkness better than I had. Her Ki felt nice, contrasting the empty void of the transportation spell it was like sitting in a blanket on a cold day. It was a welcome feeling. That was lost as soon as we arrived at our destination.

xXx

I gasped for air as soon as the ground freed us. As we escaped from our earthen cocoon I tried to steady Secre but ended up dropping us both. Having already taken a trip using the demon's transportation magic I managed to recover before her and took note of our surroundings. We stood in a walled-off yard in front of a square stone keep. The gray walls were not whitewashed and had occasional scratches in the roughly cut stone. The air was frigid and dry, making your throat itch with every other breath, and the grass had a bluish hue to it. The demon moved forward and gestured us to follow.

The interior of the Keep was unusual to say the least. Where the walls would usually be decorated with paintings and tapestries hung an assortment of mechanical components, and a variety of dried flora that had a few too many thorns to be from clover kingdom.

We were led past closed doors and taken to what resembled a waiting hall. The room was not grand in size, and all the fabrics that lined the furniture was painted in different shades of gray. 

“Make yourselves comfortable, Your captain is being moved to the infirmary and your positions are being sorted. The Miss’ room is being prepared as we speak. I will be with you shortly. ”

Secre and I made our way up to a couch near the fireplace and sat next to each other. We remained quiet, not quite sure of what to say. It Didn't take long for the man to return. When he did not waste time to address us. 

“Now Miss, your quarters have been prepared There is a body waiting outside to guide you, I do believe my prince has some questions he would like answered.”

“Actually, I think it would be best if I stayed.” Secre replied

“Now-”

“She should stay.” I cut him off mid sentence. He nodded and came to sit across from us.

The room was bright enough for me to make out all of his features and I could see that this was a new body that lacked the gash I had made in the previous machine. I could not make out much except the general shape of his body because the dark cloak remained draped over him so I chose to get a good look at his face. The same unyielding smile still sat on his lips but now that I could see the texture of his face I realised that it was not truly a face but a painted wooden mask.

After a nudge from Secre I remembered that I was supposed to be asking questions, “Who are you?”

“My, starting with such complicated topics already, Now I am a smith working his days away doing what 

I love.” The mask did not move as he spoke the words flowing out of perfectly still lips in the same emotionless tone he spoke in before. He tilted his head waiting for the next question.

Secre decided to pick up my Slack, “Ok, then who were you, and what is your name.”

“I do not recall promising you answers.” He tilted his head to the left.

“Answer her.” I tried my luck at an order only to be surprised when it worked.

“Of course. I was a smith in a time long ago before humanity was infected by the disease you call mana, A time where stone masonry and Metallurgy were the peak of humanity. A time where progress was not frowned upon and people were judged upon the worth of their skills instead of their magic. As for my name...” He paused seeming to choose his words carefully, “I used to have one once, now… well if you insist you may call me the mechanical man.”

“Uuuuh...” I tried to figure out if he was joking or not but the mask gave away no hint of emotion, “Ok? NOW WHY DO YOU KEEP CALLING ME A PRINCE” I screamed as the man's unreadable aura was starting to make my head hurt.

“Well that's an easy question, you are the son of my  _ King, _ so you are by right my prince.” I noticed the almost sour tone in his voice when he uttered the word, which made me wonder. Surely he could not be talking about the Clover Kingdom’s King, right?

Choosing to once again get me more information Secre spoke up, “And who is this King?”

He Tilted his head towards Secre for a minute. The fire in the background kept dancing, painting the room with the shadows from the ornate iron cage that lined the fireplace. The smile on his mask seemed to grow before he answered. 

“Why of course, he is the king of all devils, the one who resides at the lowest floor of the tree of Qliphoth. The Devil who stands atop all others, Luciferio is your fathers name.” He finished putting his hands out in the air.

All of the tension in the air dropped as I tried to make sense of what he just told me and asked. “Who?... And what tree?”

Suddenly the Demons head dropped and he chuckled, sending shivers up my spine.

“Of course you would not know. The tree of Quiploth is the structure that binds our world. It holds the underworld, middle earth and the heavenly realms together.”

I still did not quite understand what he meant but chose to simply go along with it.

“But if my father was a Devil, does that mean that I am a devil?” I asked

He lifted his head up and continued. “Now, my prince, that is where your mother comes in. You are only part Devil. Your mother was a Human of the name Licita.”

With that the Demon had peaked my curiosity. I was who I was, and that would not change, yet for some reason I seeked the connection that a blood family provided. I wanted a place to belong to. So I asked for clarification, and he provided.

“As for who she was. Your mother was a commoner, leaving in the forsaken realms. She was alone, and one thing led to another until she eventually, by chance stumbled upon a man. Yet what she stumbled upon was no man, it was your father. She wanted a child you see, so she made a contract with the devil. That, My prince is how you were born. But you see there were some things she forgot to account for. Her body had a unique condition that sapped the life force out of her surroundings, and that included you too. She had to give you up.” 

“Oh, what happened to her?” I asked, somewhat disappointed.

“Some time later she came across another child. A young devil, with neither life force or mana. She adopted the child, and cared for it. But you see there is one thing that devils should not be able to do, and that is leave the underworld, for you see there is a gate that only lets things enter. A devil's ultimate desire is to make a contract and bypass the gate. So when he found out a devil had exited before him he sought to take over its vessel, for you see a devil without a contract protecting it, is weak against the stronger of its Kind.”

I could already feel where this was going and I knew I was not going to like it.

“When Luciferio tried to take your adopted brother’s body, your mother protected him. He was sealed away from your father’s grasp and into that Grimoire you carry. Your father was enraged, so in retaliation, he killed your mother.”

For a long time after I was quiet, not quite sure of what to say. I felt Secre place an unsure hand on my wrist and give it a comforting squeeze. Her hand was warm.

The devil must not have been the best at giving people space to contemplate things, “Is there anything else?”

I took a deep shaky breath, and asked one of the final questions that plagues my mind. “Why are you helping me?”

“I owe a debt to both your parents. When I died your father was very bored. To amuse himself he barred me entry from the underworld, and left me to rot in purgatory, here I built My home and swore vengeance upon him. So if I could not get what I want... neither can he.” 

Before I could even react, a hot Iron flew into his hand from the fire. In a second the glowing metal was pressed into the back of the right side of my neck above the boardr of my shoulder. His free hand kept me in palace as I struggled.

Secre jumped to react. The last thing I saw before my vision fade was a darkness emerging from his cloak and blowing Secre away. 

The world went blank.

* * *

Well If you read this far I hope ur caught up with the manga. Of course, not all of this is cannon, this is fanfiction add some extra bits to remove any glaring plotholes.

I have not been good at sticking to my update promises so for future chapters expect them to come out around the Monday of every other week.

The mechanical man is an OC and doesn't worry he will remain a supporting member of the cast, hell get wrap up his business with Asta in the next chapter and then will sit on the backburner until he is needed again. I don't plan to bog this down with a ridiculous amount of OCs... for the near future at least


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